Thursday, November 5, 2009

My Fav Healthy Tips for the Everyday Kinda Girl


Let’s be honest, who has the time, patience or desire to weigh out your food to get the precise portion? Or who honestly can stick to eating five small meals a day without over indulging at least once? And seriously, who drinks the daily recommended amount of water a day? I compiled some of my real life do-able tips to staying healthy and being able to maintain it.

Let’s talk H2O- first of all, I hate the taste (or lack there of) of water but it’s the only thing I drink. I haven’t drank pop in lord knows how long and I hate how juice is so packed with sugar. To counter my dislike for the taste and to get my daily recommended dose (or close to it) I do whatever I can to choke it down. I love crystal light to-go packets, they come in a wide variety of flavors and are low carb, low cal, and zero sugar. I also sip down at least one cup of tea every day.

A Veggie a meal equals abs of steal- I have said many times that what you do at the dinner table has more to do with your six-pack than what you do in the gym. It is suggested that you should consume 5-9 servings of veggies a day!!! Most college students are lucky to get 1-2 and those are usually coated in a creamy dressing or deep fried and battered. I love birdseye frozen veggie packages that you can just pop in the micro.

Pack a healthier snack- I always carry little baggies of almonds/soy nuts/dried fruit, etc in my purse and school bag so I never get too hungry which leads to binging. A piece of fruit that travels well like apples, plums and bananas are great filler-upper snacks that can tide you over in between classes and keeps your metabolism revved throughout the day.

If you’re going to talk the talk, ya might as well walk the walk- I really try not to take the bus or drive to class. I strive to get the recommended 10,000 steps a day with help from my new pedometer, of which I fondly refer to as my pedi :) You would be amazed at how many calories you actually burn just by walking, it’s easy, gym-free and you get to enjoy the fresh air and gorgeous tress that makes fall so pleasurable!

Sleep your way slim- is the all too sought after pleasure that so many college students lack and underestimate its importance, SLEEEEEEP! Not getting enough rest throws your body systems off putting stress on your body. Stress automatically releases the hormone cortisol (aka fat) as a safety mechanism. So even though you have a million things to do, taking even a 20 min nap clears your head and is actually a very productive way to keep yourself healthy!

Breakfast of champions- this might be the most commonly skipped yet the most important healthy tip of all. So many students roll out of bed after hitting snooze one-too-many-times and run out the door on an empty stomach. Big no-no! Even if your not hungry when you first wake up it is so important to eat a big healthy breakfast like eggs and whole wheat toast, or oatmeal, or a cup of yogurt and fruit. You need to fuel your body in order to burn calories (and by “fuel” I don’t mean sugar laden cereals)!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The End of Overeating

Ever hear yourself saying “sure, I could make this at home, but it just tastes better at a restaurant!” Unfortunately this isn’t just your mind playing tricks on you, it actually does taste better. The food industry has spent millions of dollars in research to figure out how to make us eat and not stop. David Kessler breaks the silence in his book The End of Overeating. He explains how the combination of sugar, fat and salt make food completely irresistible. He also explains how restaurants have taken this formula and layer every item of food multiple times with these three ingredients in order to keep us coming back for more. Meanwhile, our waistlines, blood pressure, and overall health are paying the price.

Our food is so heavily processed that the food industry has to increase the level of chemicals, artificial flavors and harmful processing techniques to keep us satisfied. Food that is in its original form is now tasteless and unsatisfying due to this conditioning and high expectation of flavor, via sugar, fat and salt. To make matters worse the food industry has found that “by eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techniques allow us to eat faster,” according to Kessler. So now our food is being chopped up made soft in order for us to have the ability to wolf it down faster than we our brains can process.

I’m only halfway through the book (I blame the delay on midterms) but so far it has been so eye opening, I just had to share it with you asap! I’ll post Kessler’s suggestions to overcome these obstacles and find your way to The End of Overeating!!